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Packers’ training camp notebook: Tom returns to team drills and Kraft is practicing again

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After two days off following Family Night, the Packers were back on the practice field Tuesday for their 11th training camp practice of the 2024 season.

It was a cooler day in Green Bay compared to last week and a windy one as well. Practice ended up going just shy of two hours. As always, let’s open up the notebook and dive into what happened.

Who was in and who was out? Josh Jacobs returned to practice on Tuesday and participated in the team portion as well. Also back was Tucker Kraft, who was activated off the PUP list. He participated in the individual portion of practice but will have to ramp up before back in the 11-on-11s.

“Yeah, so right now we’re just in a ramp up period,” said Kraft. “So over the next two weeks there will be just more and more. I’ve been doing–you guys don’t see me, but I was in the indoor for the last three weeks and just grinding in there. Trying to get as familiar with contact again as possible. Working in those weird positions. Positions I don’t want to be in. But just working through those and see if they cause pain. We’re progressing really well. So you guys will see me a lot more involved down the road.”

New addition to the injury report were wide receivers Dimitri Stanley (hamstring) and Rory Starkey (calf) Still sidelined were Don Callis (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), JJ Enagbare (hamstring), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), and Donovan Jennings (knee).

Quay Walker would sit out the last few periods, but said afterward that he was fine.

“Yeah, I’m doing good,” said Walker. “Everything’s fine.”

The Packers first preseason game will be played later this week against Cleveland. Before practice, LaFleur confirmed that Jordan Love will play some snaps, which presumably means there will be some other starters who suit up as well, but playing times will vary.

“I think just going through kind of re-evaluating the last couple years from when we’ve had guys not play and last year having them, all the guys play, I thought it was beneficial for us early on, especially Week 1, just to kind of knock some of the rust off. I think there was a lot of value of going through getting your mind right to get ready to play a football game,” said LaFleur. “Obviously we’re going to be smart with those guys. The last thing we want to do is put guys at risk. I mean, there’s an inherent risk, right, every time you go out on the field, but we’ll be smart with him. But at the same time I do think just the preparation of getting ready for a game is invaluable and why not use those opportunities?”

Zach Tom returned to 11-on-11s. Tom was back in the team portion of practice–although he didn’t take every snaps as the Packers still mindful of his workload. Not surprisingly, the offensive line got a huge boost with him back on the field, and therefore, the offense as a whole looked to be much more effective. Love took advantage in the move the ball portion of practice, as did Josh Jacobs with two nice runs to begin the day.

“It was good,” said Tom. “A little different when you’re going live speed vs. just doing individual. But it was good to be back out there today and get my first live reps since probably San Francisco.”

Who was starting on the offensive line: The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman noticed that Jordan Morgan left practice during the individual period. He did not return. In his place was Sean Rhyan, with the rest of the starting line consisting of Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Rhyan, and Tom. With Tom still being eased in, we saw Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort take some reps with the ones as well. In the swing tackle competition, both Dillard and Telfort seem to be ahead of Caleb Jones, and it looked like Dillard saw more snaps with the starters today than Telfort did.

Some notable one-on-ones:

Grant DuBose catch vs. Corey Ballentine
Christian Watson catch vs. Eric Stokes
Xavier McKinney PBU vs. Luke Musgrave
Dontayvion Wicks catch vs. Robert Rochell
Jayden Reed catch vs. Keisean Nixon
Evan Williams vs. Joel Wilson: Incomplete
Caleb Jones beats Arron Mosby
Kadeem Telfort beats Brenton Cox
Cox beats Telfort
Kenny Clark beats Jordan Morgan
Colby Wooden beats Royce Newman
Josh Myers beats TJ Slaton
Karl Brooks beats Sean Rhyan

With Cooper still out, Ty’Ron Hopper got some snaps with the starting defense and he seemed to take advantage of the opportunity. On a few different plays, Jeff Hafley used Hopper as a blitzer. On a run, he met MarShawn Lloyd at the line of scrimmage and won that battle. Then on a passing play, he had sticky coverage on Joel Wilson and contested the pass.

“I think he’s coming along fine,” said Walker about Hopper. “Just growing each and every day. It’s the only thing you can ask for. He’s getting better, trying to find the small things he can get better at, whether they be on the field or off the field, but I think he’s growing each and every day.”

It was a windy day at Ray Nitschke Field and the kickers struggled because of it. After both Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph started 3/3 with the wind more so helping–although it was crossing a bit as well–kicking into the wind both finished 1/4 and 4/7 on the day.

During the team portion of practice, there were two in game situations, the first with the offense starting backed up inside their own 10 yard line. Sean Clifford and the second offense were not able to pick up the first down. The drive started with a run to MarShawn Lloyd and was followed by two incompletions. Next up was Jordan Love, with that series ending after two plays with Eric Wilson recording a “sack” and a safety. Michael Pratt was able to move the chains after two runs by Ellis Merriweather and a completion on a slant to Samori Toure.

The second team situation was an end of half scenario. The offense were at midfield and had 0:50 seconds on the clock with one timeout. Love’s drive began with a throwaway with no where to go with the ball. On the second play, he connected with Christian Watson over the middle for 15 yards and the offense used their timeout. On the third play, Love again had to throw the ball away. With four seconds left, the offense attempted a 53-yard field goal, which both Joseph and Carlson missed.

Sean Clifford: The first play was a batted ball at the line of scrimmage. The second play was a screen to Lloyd for about four yards and the drive ended after an incomplete pass to DuBose on third down, with Clifford leading him a bit too far.

Controlling the controllables, LB Eric Wilson carving out playing time in Packers’ defense

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Now two weeks into training camp, linebacker Eric Wilson appears to be carving out a role for himself in this Packers’ defense.

“It’s just about us getting better,” said Wilson about the competition at linebacker. “I don’t think we focus on that at all. It’s a matter of controlling what you can control and focusing on me and what I can do today to get better and help our team be better. I think that’s what everybody has that same mentality.”

With the additions of Edgerrin Cooper in the second round of this year’s draft and Ty’Ron Hopper in the third round, who joined a linebacker unit with Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, who was ahead of Wilson on the depth chart last season, at least from a defensive perspective, Wilson could have been viewed as the odd-man out.

However, that hasn’t been the case whatsoever. Wilson has been a mainstay in the Packers’ starting defense when the unit is lined up in its new base 4-3 look. With his speed and coverage abilities, Wilson has been the Will linebacker, with Quay Walker in the Middle, and Isaiah McDuffie as the strong-side backer. With the second defense, it has been Wilson and Cooper as the nickel linebackers.

“I think we always draft players that can help us win games,” Wilson said. “Regardless of what’s going on upstairs, I’ve got to control what I can control. Ever since I’ve been in the league, guys are going to get drafted. It’s just a matter of doing what you can do and make sure you handle your business.”

From the outside looking in, we see the end result, which is Wilson lined up on the practice field with the starting 4-3 defense. But what has helped put Wilson get to that point is now eight years of NFL experience and knowing how to attack each day. Cooper and Hopper may have more long-term upside than Wilson, but as incoming rookies, they are still navigating the learning curve that comes with being in the NFL. Wilson, however, has seemingly mastered that off-field process.

“He’s a pro,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. “The way he sits in meeting rooms, takes notes, helps the younger guys, stays after, takes care of his body. You see him show up on special teams, punching the ball out, which I showed to the defense the other day.

“You see him showing up on defense, punching the ball out. He can play multiple positions because he’s a very smart player and he’s reliable and he’s a guy that you can trust that’s gonna go 100 miles an hour and know exactly what to do and he’s gonna try to finish, so I’m very pleased with him. I’m a big fan.”

With Walker and De’Vondre Campbell each working through injuries at various points in 2023, Wilson was able to carve out a niche role for himself, playing 144 snaps, often taking over for McDuffie during obvious passing situations. In addition to those defensive contributions, Wilson was a core special teams player, leading the team in snaps with 345, finishing second in tackles, along with having the fifth-best special teams grade.

This offseason, Wilson signed a one-year, $1.377 million deal to return to Green Bay. The 2024 season will be his third with the Packers.

Fighting for playing time on defense, Wilson could have taken a me-first approach with the Packers’ rookies and let them figure things out on their own, and I’m not sure anyone would blame him. But for Wilson, an established leader in the Packers’ linebacker room, that was never going to be an option.

As an incoming rookie with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2017, Wilson benefitted from veterans Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr and their willingness to help him out. Now the veteran in the room, Wilson believes it’s important to pay that forward, and selflessly recognizes that the more quickly Cooper and Hopper can make an impact, the better it will be for the Packers’ defense as a whole.

“It is important for young guys, especially when I was young,” said Wilson about having veterans to lean on. “I had some really good vets, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. They always helped me out with any questions I had. I think it’s important to push that forward to help out the rookies. It can only help our entire team out. The faster they come along, the better we’ll be.”

With roughly 70-80 percent of a team’s defensive snaps coming in nickel with only two linebackers on the field–which up to this point has been Walker and McDuffie–it’s not as if Wilson’s role is going to be massive this season. In addition to that, as Cooper gets more acclimated to the playbook and the play at the NFL level, he certainly could take on a larger role as training camp and the season progress.

However, for the time being, Wilson is a fixture in the Packers’ starting defense when lined up in the 4-3, and as of now, there haven’t been any signs that this is going to change. Wilson is more than willing to help the rookies progress, but because of the work he puts in on a daily basis, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be easy to surpass on the Packers’ depth chart.

“You talk about a pro,” said Matt LaFleur. “He does everything the right way, so dependable, you can trust what he’s gonna do out there. Certainly, he’s made a huge impact on teams, but I also I think he continues to get better and better as a linebacker and so, I think he’s a great guy to have in the room, a real leader in the linebacker room and on this football team.”

Still unknowns surrounding Packers’ swing tackle competition

Paul Bretl | 8/5/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Right guard isn’t the only position along the Packers’ offensive line where a competition is unfolding, but the swing tackle role off the bench is up for grabs as well.

“We have a fun competition there,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “It’s gonna be good.”

This was a role that was previously held by Yosh Nijman, who is now in Carolina after signing with the Panthers as a free agent earlier this offseason. As of now, there seems to be three players competing for this role in Kadeem Telfort, Andre Dillard, and recently, Caleb Jones was added to the mix.

Stenavich has also mentioned Luke Tenuta and Travis Glover when discussing this competition, but so far in practice, Tenuta is spending time at both guard and tackle with the second-team offense and Glover has seen more snaps with the third unit.

As far as who may have the upper-hand now 10 practices in, well, that hasn’t been easy to distinguish, and making that evaluation potentially more challenging is this group going up against Rashan Gary and Preston Smith regularly.

During the first two training camp practices, it was Dillard at right tackle with the ones, while Zach Tom is still working his way back to the team portion of practice. Tom is expected to be back this week in 11-on-11s. For the following six practices, it was Telfort taking the bulk of the snaps with the starters at right tackle, with Dillard being worked in here and there for a few series, but seeing most of his time come with the second unit.

However, roles have since flipped the last two practices, with Dillard primarily back with the ones, with Telfort being worked in occasionally. And then during Family Night, Jones was worked in for some snaps with the starters as well.

“We’ve got a really good competition there,” added Stenavich. “Obviously we’ve got Andre, we’ve got Kadeem, Caleb’s back in practice now, Glover, Tenuta, so we’ve got a bunch of guys we’re going to keep rotating around and see how grabs that spot.”

Telfort spent the 2023 season on the Packers’ practice squad after going undrafted out of UAB–a “humbling experience,” as Telfort put it, but a very valuable one as well. This offseason, he focused on footwork, working out with Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed in South Florida, and losing some weight in the process as well.

At 6-7 – 322 pounds, Telfort is a towering presence on the offensive line, and even saw some work at guard during offseason programs, helping him gain a better understanding of the offense as a whole. Although Telfort may not have the athletic profile of other linemen on this Packers team, he’s very steady.

“He’s been a good surprise and he’s been just a steady guy,” Stenavich said. “He’s not the most athletic. He’s not all that stuff. When you look at the numbers, he’s a big guy. He plays consistently, which in the offensive line is very important. He’s just a consistent presence.

“He’s very football intelligent. He’s just one of those guys that I’m excited to just see how he plays and how he keeps developing. We’ll see at the end of camp how it all aligns.”

Dillard joined the Packers in the offseason on a veteran league-minimum contract with no guarantees. Dillard is a supreme athlete and a former first-round pick in 2019, but has struggled to gain any traction. Last season with Tennessee, Dillard surrendered 12 sacks and 41 pressures, according to PFF, ranking 84th out of 86 tackles in pass-blocking efficiency.

With nearly all of Dillard’s 1,298 career snaps coming at left tackle, the challenge for him in Packers’ training camp has been transitioning to the right side of the line, which obviously is a must if you’re going to be the swing tackle.

“I think we just gotta keep working him on both sides,” Stenavich said. “He looks a lot better on the left side. He struggled a little bit on the right side. Us as coaches, we gotta make sure we put him over there on the right side to make sure he feels comfortable playing over there. It’s a new scheme. Just like anything, new terminology, some different techniques and things like that. You just gotta keep working at it and we’ll keep coaching him up.”

Jones began training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, putting him slightly behind after missing a few practices and then having to ramp up before being fully immersed in 11-on-11s. But now with some reps under his belt, Jones has shown that he’s deserving of some of the first-team reps.

“It felt good,” said Jones about getting snaps with the starters during Family Night. “It felt great to know I’m being considered in the first place. You know, again, like I said, there’s things that I wish I would have done better but I’m not upset at my opportunity to be out there. I’m just excited to be considered and I hope in the future I’ll be able to continue to build on what it is that I’ve shown today.”

Jones is in his third NFL season after spending the previous two on the Packers’ 53-man roster in a developmental capacity. After coming from the run-heavy Indiana offense, Jones said that the biggest strides he’s made have come in pass protection.

“I think coming into this it’s always been a question for me about I didn’t come from a heavy pass-blocking, any organizations before this,” said Jones. “So it’s always been a question, ‘how will he do in pass blocking?’

“I think that’s the biggest improvement on my part, just learning how to pass block and learning how to use my hands. Learning what sets to use at what times. It’s always just a blessing.”

When it comes to filling the swing tackle role, switching from the left side to the right side, or vice versa, isn’t anything new for Jones, which could be to his advantage in this competition.

“I’m somebody who has been swinging from left to right, right to left my entire career playing tackle from high school to college,” said Jones. “Mid-game, mid-series, it’s never really been something that I’ve had too much of an issue with. But for that, it’s kind of like, I can do whatever on both sides.”

With Tom returning to the team portion of practice this week–a welcomed sight for an offensive line unit that has struggled–this competition will primarily take place with the second-team offense–although there still may be some snaps with the starters available as Tom is eased in.

From the outside looking in, as these players continue to be rotated fairly heavily, there isn’t a ton of clarity on where this camp battle stands, but it is still early on in the process, and I imagine that right now it is the Packers’ intention to get each player as many reps as possible right now to have a large enough sample size when it comes to evaluating each of them. Once joint practices and the preseason arrives, we will have a better understanding of where things stand, and how this trio performs in those environments will carry a lot of weight.

“We’re going to keep shuffling it up and try to create a competitive situation and may the best man win,” said Matt LaFleur.

Return of Zach Tom will be welcomed sight for Packers’ OL

Paul Bretl | 8/4/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The return of Zach Tom to team drills will be a welcomed sight for the Packers’ offensive line–a unit that has taken it’s lumps throughout training camp.

Tom has been at practice going through walkthroughs and individual drills as he works his way back from a pec injury that he sustained back in April. However, this upcoming week when the Packers are back on the practice field, Tom should be joining the rest of the offense for 11-on-11s.

“That is the plan,” said Matt LaFleur after Family Night when asked if Tom would return this week. “So he’s looked great.”

Following the Packers’ annual Family Night practice, Tom acknowledged that even when back on the field for 11-on-11s, he may be on some sort of snap count initially. The rehab process has been “really good,” said Tom, but there is still work to be done when it comes to getting back to full strength–literally.

“Honestly, it’s probably going to be a work in progress,” said Tom about getting his strength back. “I’ve never dealt with this injury, either. I’m sure there’s going to be some things that I’m going to have to work through, but the only way you’ll know is if you start playing football.”

Through what is now 10 training camp practices, the Packers defensive line has routinely controlled the line of scrimmage over their offensive counterpart. Led by Rashan Gary, the defensive front has not only generated regular pressure each practice, but there have been numerous instances where they’ve been in the backfield what seems like almost immediately.

The best way for a defense to disrupt any play–run or pass–is with quick pressure up the middle. In the passing game, it forces the quarterback to rush, not allowing the play to fully develop, which disrupts the rhythm and timing of the passer, oftentimes resulting in a disjointed effort from the offense. Success on the ground has been even more difficult for the Packers offense to come by.

At this time of the year, the defense being in the backfield can make evaluating the offensive side of the football more challenging for the coaching staff.

“It’s tough on the O-line right now,” said LaFleur. “Certainly I think the D-line gets frustrated at times bc in practice we use a lot of chippers, I’m like hey man that’s a credit to you guys, that’s the ultimate complement, we feel we have to get four hands on you to block you. It’s going to happen during the season.”

To a degree, it’s not a surprise that the offensive has struggled. For one, they are at a disadvantage when not in pads, and two, the right side of the line has consisted of rookie Jordan Morgan, who is playing guard for the first time in his career, and either Kadeem Telfort or Andre Dillard at right tackle.

While the current play along the offensive line is far from perfect, it is improving. In recent practices, there has been a bit more cohesiveness, which has provided time for the quarterbacks, but particularly in one-on-one situations, is where we’ve seen the collective unit struggle.

“Pretty good,” said Tom about the play of the offensive line. “Obviously there’s a lot of things that we need to clean up, but that’s what camp is for. I think we’ve done a good job coming in and correcting the mistakes and taking it to the next practice and getting better every day.”

Getting Tom back in the mix should help provide some needed stability for this unit. Last season was Tom’s first full year as a starter. According to PFF, he would surrender just two sacks along with 37 pressures. Out of 50 eligible tackles, Tom ranked 13th in pass-blocking efficiency.

Making Tom’s performance even more impressive was the competition he went up against. Of the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers in terms of total pressures, Tom faced six of them, including Nick Bosa, Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons, and Maxx Crosby, all of whom finished in the top-four of that pressure category.

After that already impressive season, Tom is determined to achieve some big goals this season, and now with this pec injury getting more closer to being behind him, he’ll soon have the opportunity to solely focus on achieving them.

“However many sacks I gave up is too many,” Tom said during offseason programs. “This was really my first year starting and I was able to go up against some of those premier guys. Learned a lot. Now, this year, come back even better. I’ve got big goals in mind for this year.”

Packers’ Family Night Practice: Key Observations and Takeaways

Paul Bretl | 8/3/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers were back on the football field for their 10th training camp practice, but tonight’s practice was not like the previous nine before it–it was Family Night, with the Packers practicing in front of 60,887 inside Lambeau Field.

“What an atmosphere, man,” said Matt LaFleur after practice. “It never gets old, going into Lambeau, the environment, the energy the fans brought.”

With practice being held in front of a full stadium and televised, as LaFleur said, it was very vanilla play-calling on both sides of the ball. With that in mind, here are my key observations and takeaways from what took place.

Who was in and who was out? Josh Myers was back after missing Thursday’s practice for a personal reason. Josh Jacobs went through warmups but did not practice. Jacobs did not practice Thursday with a groin injury but said at his locker afterwards that if it was a game he would have been out there. Still not practicing was Tucker Kraft, Carrington Valentine, Edgerrin Cooper, Donovan Jennings, Deslin Alexandre, Keshawn Banks, and a new addition to the injury report was JJ Enagbare with a hamstring injury.

“We already knew,” said Jacobs after practice about only going through warmups. “Like I said, I could have practiced the other day. It’s not that serious of an issue. I’ll be OK.”

Zach Tom should be returning to 11-on-11s soon and Kraft should be back at practice soon as well.

“That is the plan,” said LaFleur when asked about Tom returning next week, “so he’s looked great. Hopefully we’ll get tucker back in some capacity next weke as well but we’ll see how it goes.”

What’s going on at swing tackle? After a handful of practices where Kadeem Telfort was taking the majority of the starting right tackle snaps, tonight-and Thursday–that role belonged to Andre Dillard. The Packers are trying to figure out who the swing tackle will be this season. For what it’s worth, earlier in the week Adam Stenavich discussed Telfort’s consistency while also mentioning that Dillard had to get more comfortable on the right side. Then near the end of practice, we saw Caleb Jones get his first starting right tackle reps of training camp.

“I think coming into this it’s always been a question for me about I didn’t come from a heavy pass-blocking, any organizations before this,” said Jones after practice. “So it’s always been a question, how will he do in pass blocking? I think that’s the biggest improvement on my part, just learning how to pass block and learning how to use my hands. Learning what sets to use at what times. It’s always just a blessing.”

What about the rest of the offensive line? The rest of the line was as expected with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Myers at center and Jordan Morgan at right guard. The second unit was made up of Caleb Jones at left tackle, followed by Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan, and either Telfort or Dillard. Rhyan saw some left guard snaps with the starters and for the first time since camp began, we saw Jordan Morgan at a position other than right guard, with him lining up at left tackle with the twos to end practice. Stenavich said he’s been at right guard because they believe that is where he has the best chance to compete for a starting role.

The defensive alignment remained the same. Tonight it was Javon Bullard’s turn to start next to Xavier McKinney. The nickel linebackers were Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, while TJ Slaton was next to Kenny Clark on the early downs.

Some of the notable one-on-one results I was able to catch:

Lukas Van Ness beats Caleb Jones
Christian Watson catch vs. Eric Stokes
Karl Brooks beats Royce Newman
Jayden Reed with a catch vs. Kalen King
Kadeem Telfort beats Van Ness
Javon Bullard with a PBU vs. Dimitri Stanley
Jacob Monk beats Jonathan Ford
Julian Hicks catch vs. Corey Ballentine
Dontayvion Wicks catch vs. Stokes
Jaire Alexander keeps Malik Heath out of end zone
Xavier McKinney PBU vs. Luke Musgrave
Alexander beats Romeo Doubs

It was another impressive showing for Doubs. On one reception, he did a really good job of boxing out Alexander and making the contested catch. During the red zone period, Doubs had back-to-back touchdown receptions, beating Stokes on a slant and then making another catch over Keisean Nixon. Near the end of practice, he caught a deep crosser from Love.

“Just repetition,” said Doubs about his red zone touchdowns. “Just make sure I rep it out with Jordan or any other QB as much as I can, get the timing down.”

I know I’ve said this already, but Marshawn Lloyd’s ability to change direction is supremely impressive. There was one run, in particular, where there was nothing open up the middle and he jumped cut to the right to get to the outside in a flash.

In part, you’ve got to give credit to the linebackers and safeties, which I know I’ve mention before have done an excellent job swarming to the ball carrier around the line of scrimmage, but the screen game and outside runs have been tough sledding for the offense.

The play along the offensive line has improved in recent practices, but the defensive front is still largely controlling the line of scrimmage, making it tough on the quarterbacks. The cohesiveness of the offensive line has improved, but particularly in one-on-one situations they are losing those matchups, which is a credit to the defensive front. Rashan Gary was again really impressive.

“It’s tough on the O-line right now,” LaFleur said. “Certainly I think the D-line gets frustrated at times bc in practice we use a lot of chippers, I’m like hey man that’s a credit to you guys, that’s the ultimate complement, we feel we have to get four hands on you to block you. It’s going to happen during the season. I think our D-line is solid, hopefully they continue to get better and improve and just keep coming off the ball the way they are.”

It’s early. Obviously things can change, but my guess right now Tyler Davis ends up ahead of Ben Sims on the depth chart. From what we’ve seen I think he’s been more sound and steady as a blocker. The run game is more difficult to decipher given that there isn’t live tackling.

I thought we saw a nice practice from Quay Walker in coverage. On one rep, he found himself in space against Grant DuBose and remained tight throughout the route to force the incompletion. On another play, he tipped a pass from Love to force an incompletion.

In game scenario: Love and the offense started at their own two yard line. Love completed the first pass to Bo Melton for about seven yards. Second down was a run to Dillon for about a yard, and then on third down Love connected with Reed for a good gain and a first. The drive would stall, however, after a run of two yards and then two incomplete passes from Love–one of which was a miss on his part and the other he tried to fit into too tight of a window. I just have a feeling, based on what we’ve seen in two-minute and other red zone situations, that in a real game Jeff Hafley is blitzing or trying to force the issue when the offense is backed up.

It wasn’t perfect and there are throws he will want back, but I thought tonight we saw more of the Sean Clifford that we remember from the preseason. He was “letting it rip” as LaFleur will say. Meaning, he was on time and in rhythm with his throws, and trusting what he was seeing. To end practice, Clifford went 5-for-9 in the two-minute period to get the offense in field goal range.

Anders Carlson responded well after a rough practice Thursday, making 8/9 of his attempts. Joseph was again solid, but had his first miss in a while, finishing 7/9. Overall, Carlson is 33/39 and Joseph 35/39. Through the ups and downs that Carlson has had, he does always seem to bounce back.

“I would anticipate that,” said LaFleur when asked if the kicking competition will go through training camp, “but things change.”

We did get to see a live tackling period tonight with the third team offensive and defensive units. Michael Pratt began the drive connecting with Dimitri Stanley for 19 yards. The next two plays were runs by Ellis Merriweather for 7 yards and four yards to move the chains. We haven’t seen much of Merriweather, but he runs hard. On first down, the Packers ran an end-around that the defense sniffed out, resulting in a loss of five yards. On 2nd and 15 with pressure closing in, Pratt finds Julian Hicks for 23 yards on an in-breaking route.

Two minute drills: Love and the offense began at their own 25 with 2:00 remaining. The first pass was incomplete to AJ Dillon with McDuffie tight in coverage. His second pass was batted down by Kenny Clark and third down was an over throw, this time with Alexander tight in coverage. On fourth down, Love’s initial read wasn’t there so he threw to Musgrave in the flat where Bullard made the “tackle.”

Two other standouts: Javon Bullard was around the ball, forcing a few incompletions, and Kalen King had a pass breakup during the red zone period and a “sack” on a nickel blitz.

“Ever since OTAs, he’s been making plays,” said Doubs about Bullard. “Glad to have a guy like him on the team. I believe his growth is going to be really good because we have really experienced guys on our defense. Sky’s the limit for him.”

Packers DT TJ Slaton putting together ‘outstanding camp’ in new defense

Paul Bretl | 8/2/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — In the new defensive scheme under Jeff Hafley, Packers’ defensive tackle TJ Slaton has acclimated himself very well to the change, even surprising Matt LaFleur in a few ways.

“I think TJ’s had an outstanding camp,” said LaFleur before Thursday’s practice. “He really has. I think just, you know quite frankly he’s surprised us in some ways. He’s just been, his ability to get off the ball and wreck double teams, whatever it may be, I think he’s done a really nice job. So I’m really excited to see how he’s progressed.”

At 6-4 – 330 pounds, Slaton may not have the prototypical build of a defensive tackle in a 4-3 system, but rather may be better suited in that regard for a 3-4 scheme as the nose tackle, which is the role he filled under Joe Barry.

However, that hasn’t been the case at all. As defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich mentioned earlier in the offseason, Slaton is the “biggest man athlete” that he’s ever seen in his life. Adding that Slaton can two-step dunk a basketball. So from an athleticism perspective, Rebrovich as no concerns about Slaton acclimating to his new role.

“You know you never quite know how one guy’s going to transition to a certain style of defense,” added LaFleur, “but he’s done a really good job.”

Through nine training camp practices, we are seeing the disruptive results that can occur when you combine Slaton’s size and athleticism with an attacking front where the goal is to get off the ball an into the backfield. Whether it’s against the run or the pass, Slaton’s presence in the backfield has become a regular occurrence at practice over the last week-plus.

“The coolest part about him right now,” said Hafley, “and I was joking doing bed check the other night, I talked to him for a while, the way he’s getting off the ball at his size and how disruptive he can be and penetrate, he’s hard to block. And you kinda saw a smile on his face and another guy who I believe has bought in and he’s doing everything that we’re trying to have those guys do and coach them to do.

“If you get big guys like that penetrating up front causes problems and I’m really happy with the way he’s started and I hope he can continue to build off of it because I think if he does and continues to improve he can really helps us out a lot and help himself out a lot.”

Last season, Slaton saw his pass rush opportunities more than double from his first two seasons with the Packers. He went from having just 134 pass rush snaps in 2022, according to PFF, to 303 in 2023. Slaton also played 466 snaps from the B-gap, compared to only 171 the year prior. And with that, he took advantage of those opportunities, recording a career-high in pressures with 16. His previous high was just six.

In addition to his pass rush production, Slaton recorded the fourth-most run-stops of any defensive tackle last season and the fifth-most tackles in the run game. Run defense may still be his calling card, but Slaton showcased last year that he can move around and be disruptive getting after the quarterback as well.

LaFleur really likes the depth that the Packers have between the defensive tackle and defensive end positions, with nine players that can be relied upon each week. With this new attacking play-style, the need for depth upfront becomes even greater, with Kenny Clark mentioning that that rotating players in and out to stay fresh will become of greater importance.

Having that much depth and different skill-sets can really allow Hafley to mix and match his rotations based upon the opponent and game-plan. The specifics of what that might look like is still be cultivated and may remain fluid throughout the season. But early on in training camp, we’ve seen Slaton among the starters, lining up next to Clark on early downs or obvious running situations.

“I like this. I like this a lot,” said Slaton about the new defense. “You’ve got to play fast. You’ve got to get off the ball and be very aggressive to play in this scheme, in this really attacking type of defense.”

Improved play from the defense as a whole starts with more consistency up front. This is a group that ranked 23rd in average yards per carry allowed last season and gave up 200-plus rushing yards in four games. The pass rush also ran very hot and cold, recording seven games, according to PFF, with a pressure rate of greater than 45 percent–which is excellent–and seven games with a pressure rate below 30 percent–which is not excellent.

The quickest way to blow up any offensive play is with immediate pressure up the middle. That not only becomes an emphasis for the defensive front but the focal point of what Slaton and his teammates are going to being asked to do by Hafley. Slaton’s ability to carry this play-style and disruptiveness into the regular season can have a heavy impact on not only improving the play of the defensive front but the defense as a whole with the positive trickle-down effect that can have.

“I think much similar to the receiving group, we feel really good about our front,” said LaFleur. “When you’ve got RG and Preston and J.J. and then inside you’ve got Kenny Clark, Heavy D, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, I mean, there’s a lot of players there. T.J. Slaton. Like, we feel really good about the collective unit and I think each one of those guys is going to get more 1-on-1 opportunities along the way because it’s hard to zero in on just one guy.”

Greg Joseph gets a leg up in Packers’ kicker competition

Paul Bretl | 8/1/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Through eight training camp practices, the Packers competition at kicker between Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson had been fairly close. However, on Thursday, the battle took a turn in Joseph’s favor.

Joseph would begin the day 22-for-24 and Carlson 21-for-24. During the first round of field goals, which consisted of kicks from 41, 45, and 47 yards, Joseph would make all three of his attempts while Carlson would make only one. The second time through, with kicks from 42, 49, and 51 yards, Joseph again made all three, while Carlson made only two. Practice would then conclude with both kickers making 58 yarders.

“It didn’t feel like too much out there,” said Joseph at his locker about the wind. “The first field-goal set, it felt like it was a little in our face and the second set, a little at our back and then for the team situation kick, it didn’t feel like there was much at all.”

And just like that, Joseph is now 29-for-31 in camp (93.5%) and Carlson is 25-for-31 (80.6%).

“Feels good,” said Joseph about where his kicking game is at. “Like I said, I don’t look at stats. I don’t look at yesterday. I’m not looking at tomorrow. Look at today and literally seeing my foot through each and every ball one at a time like singularly and that’s it.”

For Carlson, not only are the three missed field goal attempts noteworthy, but all three misses were to the left, which is the same issue he faced last season. Carlson spent the offseason focusing on his angles and approach leading up to the attempt in an effort to correct that.

“For the most part, my field goal misses I just felt like were left,” said Carlson during the first week of training camp. “As I looked at it, that’s what I worked on leading into OTAs. Like I said, I feel like I did a better job and I like my ball flight.”

Joseph has been in the NFL since 2018 after going undrafted out of Florida Atlantic. He had spent the last three seasons with the Vikings. Over his career, he has made 83 percent of his field goal attempts and has been extremely reliable on kicks under 40 yards, missing only one of his 65 attempts.

From 40-plus yards, however, Joseph is only 38-of-50, including 16-for-28 from over 50 yards. Playing in Cleveland in 2018, Joseph does have experience kicking in the elements, but he is just 3-for-7 in his career at Lambeau Field.

“70-75 percent, I’d say,” said Joseph when asked how much of kicking is mental. “I think that’s what separates really good collegiate kickers from NFL kickers. All of us, you know, a lot of us can kick the ball far, but it’s I think that mental edge, that mental approach is massive and it’s the difference between a good kicker and a great kicker.”

Perhaps an advantage for Joseph in this situation is the experience he has. He’s been in training camp kicking competitions before, has more NFL experience, and more field goal attempts in high leverage situations, which includes making five game-winners in the 2022 season alone.

These experiences, along with the help from personal coaches, have helped Joseph develop a process where he’s only focused on what he has to do to be successful. Joseph isn’t watching Carlson kick and he’s not worried about whether he’s 7-for-7 or 0-for-7 that day. The only kick that matters is the next one and that his attention is on his pre-kick routine.

“Nope,” said Joseph when asked if he watches Carlson. “I go through my steps, my cues, my process that, you know, took time to cultivate and make sure works for me and I’m going through that. And if you happen to hear say good job or oh, like, I don’t care. Block it out. All I’m focused on is seeing my foot through that next ball.”

Of course, both kickers are being evaluated on a daily basis, but LaFleur said during minicamp that the competition may not truly begin to take shape until there are more “high pressure, game-like” situations. With Family Night on Saturday, two joint practices, and three preseason games, those opportunities are coming.

Without question, Joseph had the better practice, but it’s still early in the process. One bad day or one good day won’t determine the winner of this positional battle. However, having said that, what took place on Thursday is at least noteworthy.

“I just get into a rhythm where, I know it sounds easy to say, me versus me, but I believe that if I kick to the level that I’m capable of, it’s me versus me and I’m going to put my best foot forward, make as many kicks as I can and the rest will take care of itself,” said Joseph.

Packers training camp notebook: Greg Joseph gets a leg up on Anders Carlson

Paul Bretl | 8/1/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Thursday was the Packers’ final training camp practice before Family Night on Saturday and the ninth overall. Today’s practice lasted two hours and two minutes.

As always, let’s crack open the notebook and dive into what took place today.

Who was practicing and who was not? Still sidelined were Carrington Valentine, Keshawn Banks, Deslin Alexandre, and Tucker Kraft. Valentine had a hamstring injury pop up on Wednesday, and Matt LaFleur did not have a timeline for when he would be back on the field. The team will be cautious.

“I think we’re still kind of going through that right now,” said LaFleur, “but certainly we’re going to be very cautious when it comes to those. It’s unfortunately the price of doing business at times. You get into camp, they’re bound to happen sooner or later for somebody and he’s been doing a lot of good things. He tried to power through it, it’s just that’s not something that you want to fight through all the time, or usually.”

Edgerrin Cooper dropped out of Wednesday’s practice with a hip injury and did not practice on Thursday. Josh Jacobs was out with a groin injury and Don Callis with a hamstring. Several players sat out on Thursday for a vet rest day, including Tyler Davis, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, and Elgton Jenkins. Josh Myers was absent for a personal matter.

Who was where along the offensive line? After several practices where Kadeem Telfort was the primary right tackle, today it was Andre Dillard who saw the bulk of those reps with the starters. At right guard was again Jordan Morgan, and at center was both Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk. Left guard was Royce Newman and left tackle was Rasheed Walker. With the second unit, as both Telfort and Caleb Jones compete for the swing tackle role, both played right and left tackle with that offense. The center was either Monk or Rhyan–depending on who wasn’t with the ones–and the right gaurd was Luke Tenuta and the left guard Lecitus Smith.

Today was Bullard’s turn to start next to Xavier McKinney at safety, although before practice, LaFleur had some high praise for Anthony Johnson Jr. and the offseason he has put together.

“He’s had an outstanding camp up to this point,” LaFleur said. “I think it’s a very competitive situation. He’s really learned a ton. He’s made a huge jump I would say, in my eyes, to this point from last season. Now he’s got to go out and do it as we get to some live bullets in terms of those preseason games. So it will be interesting to see how he does. But I’m excited for him.”

The linebacker rotation remained the same, with Quay Walker in the middle, and Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie to his left and right. In nickel, it was Walker and McDuffie, while Wilson and Ty’Ron Hopper were the nickel backups.

Without Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd was the second running back today behind AJ Dillon. After the draft, we heard GM Brian Gutekunst say that Lloyd brings something “different” to the running back room, and we sure saw that. During a carry in the team drills, Lloyd made a lightning quick cut to avoid a linebacker and then accelerated upfield for what looked like would have been a big run.

The kicking battle takes a turn. For the most part, the competition between Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph has been –pretty even, but today, Joseph got the upper-hand, making all seven of his attempts, while Carlson would make only four, with all three misses being to the left. Carlson is now 25/31 in camp and Joseph is 29/31.

“Nope,” said Joseph when asked if he watches Carlson kick. “I go through my steps, my cues, my process that, you know, took time to cultivate and make sure works for me and I’m going through that. And if you happen to hear say good job or ohh, like, I don’t care. Block it out. All I’m focused on is seeing my foot through that next ball.”

The starting punt return unit featured Keisean Nixon returning, Bo Melton and Corey Ballentine as the jammers, along with Kingsley Enagbare, Kristian Welch, Lukas Van Ness, Eric Wilson, Isaiah McDuffie, Malik Heath, and Evan Williams.

Of note, and keep in mind the Packers didn’t have Gary or Smith, but Colby Wooden saw some defensive end snaps today and Kenneth Odumegwu was at defensive end with the second defense. The Packers have been working both Ballentine and Kalen King in the slot, but when both are with the second defense, King is the nickel and Ballentine is on the boundary. During a few reps with the ones when Nixon wasn’t in, Ballentine took his spot.

During the two-minute drill, we saw the defense really trying to do the dictating by sending a few linebacker blitzes, rather than just sitting back.

Two minute drill: The offense was at their own 45 yard line with 1:00 left on the clock, down 28-21, and with no timeouts. Dontayvion Wicks both sparked and kept this drive going. He had a 13 yard catch, finding the soft spot between defenders. On the next play, Jordan Love connected with down the left sideline for 27 yards on a really impressive catch with Eric Stokes in tight coverage. Love then had a pass fall incomplete, completed a pass to Jayden Reed for nine yards and then threw the ball away while scrambling. On the following play, Wicks drew a penalty, setting up first and goal for the offense with four seconds left, Love threw a quick out route to Wicks but Jaire Alexander was there to push him out of bounds at the goal line. The offense ended up doing pushups.

“It was the play call,” said Wicks about the deep ball. “Get open. Him putting his trust in me to go up and go get it. I knew it was close to the sideline so I was just trying to get my feet in and attack the ball.”

Sean Clifford two minute drill: Facing the same situation, Clifford scrambled back to the line of scrimmage. On second down, he led Malik Heath too far on an out route. On third down, he complete a pass to Samori Toure along the sideline, and then threw an incomplete pass on fourth down–ending the drive.

An interesting tidbit from LaFleur, during these two minute periods, Love is making the play calls for the offense, giving the coaches an opportunity to see what he likes in these situations.

“I just think it’s good for him to be in an uncomfortable situation and get that experience. It’s kind of a work in progress,” said LaFleur, “but he called the majority of the plays yesterday in the two-minute. We’ll follow that again today with him doing that. I think it’s just really good, No. 1, I want to see what he likes, what he’s thinking and why he’s thinking. I think that will help us moving forward, when we get into games. That’s certainly an area where we’ve got to be better. And so it gives, I guess, our coaching staff an opportunity to see what he really likes and what he’s calling in those situations.”

Rasheed Walker ‘making strides’ as he solidifies himself as Packers left tackle

Paul Bretl | 8/1/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — During the offseason, left tackle was thought to be a premiere positional battle that was going to take place during Packers’ training camp. However, the opposite of that has been true, and it’s a credit to the play of Rasheed Walker.

“I think Sheed’s been doing good,” said Jordan Love on Wednesday. “I think Sheed has kinda solidified himself over there and is continuing to make a name for himself.”

Back in April, the Packers drafted Jordan Morgan in the first round, a left tackle from Arizona. Although GM Brian Gutekunst would mention that the team believes Morgan can play inside, the thought from the outside was that he would be competing with Walker for those starting left tackle reps.

However, even during OTAs and minicamp, that was never really a competition that unfolded. Morgan would see a few left tackle snaps during those practices, but spent more time elsewhere along the offensive line. And now in training camp, he has only been lining up at right guard, which is where the Packers believe he will have the best opportunity to compete for playing time.

Throughout the offseason, even with the addition of Morgan to the Packers’ roster, Walker remained unfazed and just continued to work, controlling what he could control.

“He’s come in with the right mindset,” said Matt LaFleur. “Sheed didn’t say anything after the draft. He just came in and got to work and that’s what we’re looking for and I think he’s been a guy that’s been totally locked in and dialed in and it’s amazing to see just the growth, the maturation from when he was a rookie to now. I think it’s night and day.”

Walker was thrown into the mix last season after David Bakhtiari’s knee injury. While early on, there were plenty of flashes of the potential that Walker possesses, like any first time starter, there were growing pains as well. Specifically what LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich wanted to see was more consistency from him over the course of each game.

Walker’s overall numbers show up and down play, but like many of the Packers’ young players on offense last season, he began to find his footing during the second half of the season. During Week 9, the Packers introduced an in-game rotation at left tackle with Walker and Yosh Nijman that lasted six games before Walker asserted himself as the full-time starter.

Over Green Bay’s final six games, including the two playoff games, Walker began to find that consistency, giving up just one sack and nine pressures. He ranked 10th in pass-blocking efficiency and 29th in run-blocking grade. Contributing to the growth Walker experienced last season and that he’s carried over into the summer is the improved technique in which he’s playing with.

“He’s got an edge about him,” said Stenavich. “He’s a very intense competitor, and that’s the one thing that has really helped him. He plays with an edge, and he plays with kind of a chip on his shoulder. And with him, there’s kind of a big learning curve with buying into technique, buying into things that may not have been as important in the college game, but when you’re playing against really good competition every day, you have to be on point with things like that.

“So once he figured that out, and he’s still got improvements to make, but he’s making strides, and you couple that with the competitiveness, the effort that he plays with, there’s a lot of good stuff there, and he’s shown us that he’s a guy we can trust there at the spot.”

Like any player, there is still room for growth as Stenavich mentioned, but Walker’s competitive edge coupled with the incredibly valuable experience that he’s gained over the last year has him playing with a supreme level of confidence.

The Packers certainly have the talent to be a top offensive unit in football this season, but in my opinion, the ceiling for this team will be determined by how good the offensive line is, and a lot of that potential success begins with Walker at left tackle–one of the most important positions in the game.

“He stepped up big time last year,” added Love. “I think with the whole Bakh situation last year, he was kinda thrown into a role where it’s that next-man-up mentality and I think he did a really good job, so I think Rasheed is just, the same thing we talked about, building on what he did last year, trying to be as consistent as possible.

“But I think Sheed’s a very talented player. He shows crazy flashes all the time, but just that consistency we gotta keep building upon. But I don’t think Sheed’s ever worried about that. I think his mindset is, he’s a dog and he’s trying to go out there and just prove himself every day and I don’t think he lets any of that phase him.”

Packers’ WR Grant DuBose capitalizing on early training camp opportunities

Paul Bretl | 7/31/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Not to be forgotten about in the crowded and talented Packers’ wide receiver room is second-year wide out Grant DuBose, who has built upon a strong showing during offseason programs with a fast start to training camp.

“Grant, I mean, he’s been playing really well,” said Jordan Love on Wednesday. “Grant missed a lot of time last year in camp and didn’t really have his shot, so it’s really cool to be able to see him go out there and ball. But he’s, you saw the one today, he’s making some plays. Contested catches, he’s coming down with, and he’s playing really fast right now. he’s got a great feel for the offense and it’s just good to be able to see him out there. we’ve got a really deep receiver room right now and I love to see the competition. Guys are rising and making plays. So I’m excited to see what he can keep doing as we get into preseason and going forward.”

Coming out of the offseason, DuBose looked much more refined on the football field as many second year players are, with the added experience they’ve gained and the comfortability that comes with being in the same system for a full year. Working with both the second and third team offenses during OTAs and minicamp, DuBose quickly became a favorite target of Sean Clifford’s and Michael Pratt’s.

Now through eight training camp practices, DuBose has carried that momentum from the spring to the summer. Especially as of late over the last few practices, DuBose has seemingly made a catch or two each day during the team portion. On Wednesday, he saw a few snaps with the starting offense and also made the play of the day.

During 11-on-11 and working with the second-team offense, the defense jumped offsides giving Sean Clifford and the offense a free play. DuBose immediately went downfield and on a well-placed ball by Clifford between safeties Evan Williams and Zayne Anderson, DuBose rose above them to come down with the catch.

“It means a lot,” said DuBose about the catch. “We had a free play. You always want to take a shot when you can. They threw it up, gave me a chance. Just gotta come down with it. Trying to make a play for the team, be able to put us in position to win. That’s the mentality.”

DuBose was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2023 and this offseason compared to last has been drastically different for him because this year he’s been fully healthy. A back injury kept DuBose sidelined throughout offseason programs and until the Packers’ second preseason game, which left him playing catch-up.

While what takes place in the meeting rooms is certainly important, equally if not more important is being able to apply that information on the practice field. DuBose did not have that element for much of the offseason and when he returned, there just weren’t enough opportunities remaining to make up for all that lost time.

“I’m way ahead,” said DuBose about this offseason compared to last. “Last year this time around, I was sidelined still. I didn’t come back until the second preseason game. You know I’ve taken a big leap from last year. I’m feeling a lot stronger. I’m feeling faster. You know, just healthier overall. So I’m in a good spot.”

DuBose would spend all of his rookie season on the practice squad. Of course, he wanted to be on the 53-man roster, but the practice squad provided him with a tremendous development opportunity as he gained more comfort within the offense and was able to practice each day against Jaire Alexander and the rest of the Packers’ starting secondary.

“I mean, you know, still being in the offense, you able to learn right along with the guys on the 53,” said DuBose about his rookie year. “So, you know, I’m still in the classroom with the guys. So, you know, I am still learning in a way, and just being out there and playing with the one defense. Those reps matter and they count. I’m also getting better. I’m playing alongside, you know, Ja and those guys out there. Our first team secondary. So I think that allowed me, you know, to take the next step, you know, heading on into this season too, as well.”

Along with Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, DuBose spent the offseason in south Florida with his fellow receivers, preparing for the upcoming season and focusing on the nuances of route running, his releases at the line of scrimmage, pad level, and lateral quickness. In addition to being healthy and more comfortable within the offense, DuBose’s offseason training with Wicks and Reed has been a catalyst towards the play we are seeing now.

“It was good,” said DuBose of the offseason. “Being able to go down with those guys and just be able to work and progress together. Kind of just, we work out at the same place. You know, just being there alone with those guys. Making each other better. I think that all translate when we all get together out here, and it’s going to show on Sundays. It was a good offseason being able to work and progress with those guys.”

In a very full wide receiver room, every rep matters for DuBose as he makes a push for a roster spot. Beyond what he does when the ball is thrown his way, the ability to block in the run game and contribute on special teams will be other important factors in building out the back-end of the receiver depth chart.

After laying a strong foundation through the first week-plus of training camp practices, the next step for DuBose is to continue showcasing his day-to-day consistency and getting incrementally better each day.

“I think it brings out the best in all of us,” said DuBose of the competition at receiver. “That room, we compete at a high level. I think that we appreciate each other’s work, which allows us to be able to compete at a high level but also play for each other. I enjoy it. It makes us all better. I guess it’s just may the best man win. All the reps count. You just gotta take advantage of all the ones that you get. Come down to decision-making time, hopefully it’s in your favor. That’s the mentality.”